We have developed a surgical method of manipulating feline peripheral nerve regeneration to separate spatially the temporal sequence of events of axon/Schwann cell interaction during nerve fiber formation. The methods allows regenerating axons from the peroneal nerve to reinnervate the distal stump of an axon- and myelin-free, Schwann cell-enriched, chronically denervated tibial nerve stump. Three zones can be morphologically delineated in the tibial nerve stump after three weeks of reinnervation: A) a proximal myelinated zone, B) a more distal non-myelinated axon/Schwann cell contact zone, and C) a distal axon-free Schwann cell non-contact zone. The distal limit of the second zone can be determined accurately by the front of an axonally-transported label. The large volume of available tissue makes this model suitable for interdisciplinary studies to elucidate the control of axon elongation, axon growth, and axon-Schwann cell interrelationships. The model will be used to study axon-induced Schwann cell mitosis and myelinogenesis.